Opportunity: DOH-funded youth suicide prevention program

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 12/04/2019 09:46 AM PST

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Opportunity: DOH-funded youth suicide prevention program

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is partnering with Sources of Strength (Sources) to provide 11 Washington communities (school or community-based youth-serving organizations) the opportunity to implement the Sources youth suicide prevention program. DOH will fund Sources to provide initial training to each implementing site, and provide ongoing technical assistance throughout program implementation. OSPI is pleased to help promote this DOH-funded youth suicide prevention program.

In Washington state, suicide is the second leading cause of death for teens 15 to 19 years old. According to the Washington Healthy Youth Survey (2018), 32% of eighth graders, 40% of 10th graders, and 41% of 12th graders felt so sad or hopeless for 2 weeks or more that they stopped doing their usual activities. 16% of 8th graders, 18% of 10th graders, and 18% of 12th graders reported making a suicide plan.

Sources of Strength (Sources) is an evidence-based suicide prevention program that trains adult advisors, but also involves peer leaders to enhance protective factors associated with reducing suicide at the school/community level. Sources is listed on the National Best Practices Registry by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.

Interested schools/organizations should visit the Sources of Strength website https://sourcesofstrength.org/ to further understand the program and the implementation commitment. If you decide that this is the right program for your community, please complete this brief application. Expectations for involvement include a commitment for Adult Advisors to attend three to six (3-6) hours of Adult Advisor Training and a four to six (4-6) hour Peer Leader training for their roles in mentoring student Peer Leaders to conduct safe suicide prevention messaging and overall coordination of the program. Schools/community-based organizations are recommended to plan for a 1:10 Adult Advisor to Peer Leader ratio.

While the cost of the program training is paid for by DOH, each implementing site will need to cover their own implementation costs. Implementation costs will differ by site based on how each site chooses to structure their program implementation. Implementation costs may include things like: staff time to attend initial trainings, substitute teacher costs during trainings, staff time to support youth leaders, snacks for youth during their meetings, and youth participant supplies for their campaigns.

Schools/community-based organizations will be added to this cohort of Sources of Strength sites for implementation in spring 2020. If site applications exceed current capacity, we will consider need based on Healthy Youth Survey or other data, and will seek to include a geographically diverse range of sites. For more information on the Sources of Strength program, please contact Jaymie Sheehan at jaymie@sourcesofstrength.org.

To apply, please complete the application survey - https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5339171/Application-Form-Sources-of-Strength-program

For more information regarding the Title I, Part A and Learning Assistance Program (LAP), please visit us on the web. For easy access to the webpages, please bookmark them.

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Led by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, OSPI oversees K-12 public education in Washington state. Our mission is to provide funding, resources, tools, data and technical assistance that enable educators to ensure students succeed in our public schools, are prepared to access post-secondary training and education, and are equipped to thrive in their careers and lives.

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